AUSTIN - Texas lawmakers broke their budget impasse Wednesday by advancing proposals to give more money to schools, create a constitutionally dedicated account for water infrastructure and dip heavily into the rainy day fund to fuel that water account.

The proposals are part of "a good conservative budget … something that we can all be proud of," said Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands.

Final legislative approval is still needed on the measures, with some voicing concern about the prospect of taking nearly $4 billion from the rainy day fund.

"If a Moore (Okla.) tornado hit the Dallas area, we won't have enough money," said Rep. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock. The action would leave more than $4 billion in the fund, he said.

Others voiced concern about escaping the spending cap by using a constitutional amendment.

Sen. Dan Patrick R-Houston, said he voted against the spending measure due to "a combination of a number of issues, one of which was how we use money from the rainy day fund."

Wednesday's action, however, was a breakthrough after days of negotiations marked by evident distrust between the House and Senate. Lawmakers must act quickly to finalize the budget before Monday's end of the legislative session, with loose ends hanging on these issues and others - including tax relief demanded by Gov. Rick Perry. He'll get the last word on the deal.

Prolonged talks were spurred in part because agreements on spending for the next two years are spread among several pieces of legislation in addition to the main budget bill, Senate Bill 1.

One key measure was in the House, another was in the Senate, and each chamber wanted the other to ensure its priorities were addressed.

Wednesday's action included House approval with a 130-16 vote of a proposed constitutional amendment to create a dedicated funding structure for water needs. It requires a two-thirds legislative vote to be put on a ballot for Texas voters. The bill, approved in another version by the Senate, will return to that chamber for consideration of House changes.

Dedicating the money in the constitution will remove the money from the state spending cap, allowing Republicans to avoid a tough vote to break the cap. The voting threshold gave leverage to outnumbered Democrats, whose support was needed to meet the two-thirds requirement. They used their influence to bargain for more money to help restore $5.4 billion cut from public schools in 2011 in the face of a projected budget shortfall.